English 226Process Report on The God of Small Things
Although the first set of discussion questions on Arundhati Roy's novel, "The God of Small Things," is not due until a week from Monday, I expect that some of you have already read it once and are perhaps rereading it right now. I certainly hope that all of you have at least begun to read it. If not, you may already be in trouble! It's a challenging book, and it takes most people two readings to get a real handle on it. To get us started I want you to answer the 7 questions below and post them under the topic "Progress Report on Reading THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS" on the course Discussion Board.
- Have you finished reading the novel once yet? If not, how much of it have you read so far?
- How would you (briefly) sum up so far what you think the novel is about?
- Which character interests you the most so far?
- What do you find most interesting or enjoyable in the novel (if anything)?
- What has given you trouble so far--the complex and playful language, unfamiliar references, the novel setting in Kerala, the way the narrative moves back in forth in time, so that you may be unsure whether you're in the present, past, or future? Anything else? If you can, give a specific example with the page number(s).
- Have you been confused or frustrated by the narrator's suggestive hints that terrible things have happened (but are not yet described in much detail) or the comments anticipating what will happen (though they haven't been recounted yet)? Give an example. What's your guess as to what it means?
- Ask at least one specific question that you need answered or would like answered. (I'll wait to see if anyone else in the class can answer it, but if not I will try.)
Return to: Fall 2005 Syllabus Go to Dr. Roth's Home
Page
Go to: Eng226 Online